Pope Francis Takes Peace Mission To South Sudan After DR Congo

Pope Francis arrived on a three-day visit to South Sudan on Friday to promote peace and reconciliation in the world’s youngest country, traumatised by civil war and scarred by poverty.

The “pilgrimage of peace” is the first-ever papal visit to South Sudan since the predominantly Christian nation gained independence from Muslim-majority Sudan in 2011 after decades of conflict.

The pope, sitting in a wheelchair, was greeted after his plane touched down at Juba airport by a number of dignitaries including South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir.

It follows a four-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a brutal conflict in the mineral-rich east was high on the pope’s agenda.

Peace has also eluded South Sudan, with a five-year civil war leaving 380,000 people dead, four million displaced, and the young country deeply impoverished.

The 86-year-old pontiff is expected to meet victims of conflict, as well as the country’s political and church leaders, between prayers and an outdoor mass that is expected to draw large crowds.

The visit follows a trip to Kinshasa, the capital of neighbouring DRC, marking the first time since 1985 that a pope has travelled to the deeply troubled country, which has Africa’s biggest Catholic following.

The visit — Francis’s fifth to Africa — was initially scheduled for 2022 but had to be postponed because of problems with the pope’s knee.